MSNBC's Games Editor Kristin Kalning emailed me to ask if I'd speak to her about the Fat Princess controversy. My exact reply by email, after reading some of her other columns, was: "I'd be happy to speak with you—as long as I'm not going to be playing the part of the 'feminist hysteric.' Based on your previous columns, that doesn't strike me as your style, but I just want to make sure there's no agenda going in." She assured me there wasn't.

This is the result. (Spot the hilarious fat joke/pun right in the headline.)

I'll just note that I spoke to Kalning for probably about an hour, about feminism, misogyny, fat acceptance, why this game wouldn't be acceptable if it were Anorexic Princess, being a gamer myself, safe spaces online, and, among other things, the pernicious lie that the entirety of the internet is populated by insufferably rude idiots looking for a flamewar.

I got a 25-word quote in the piece, despite being (mis)used as a spokeswoman for the entirety of the feminist community. ("Feminists argue…" and "Feminist bloggers say…")

An anonymous commenter from Kotaku got a 33-word quote, in which objectors to the game, such as myself, were called "foul-mouthed fatties."

Fair and balanced, bitchez.

For the record, it's not just a disservice to feminists; it's a disservice to gamers. Where are the quotes from gamers who share my opinion? (Or don't gamers in the threads at Shakesville count?) For that matter, where are the quotes from gamers who disagreed with me without sounding like total assholes? It's also just flatly inaccurate to treat feminists and gamers as mutually exclusive groups, because, clearly (refer to comments thread), they're not.

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This Is Why I Don't Do Interviews

MSNBC's Games Editor Kristin Kalning emailed me to ask if I'd speak to her about the Fat Princess controversy. My exact reply by email, after reading some of her other columns, was: "I'd be happy to speak with you—as long as I'm not going to be playing the part of the 'feminist hysteric.' Based on your previous columns, that doesn't strike me as your style, but I just want to make sure there's no agenda going in." She assured me there wasn't.

This is the result. (Spot the hilarious fat joke/pun right in the headline.)

I'll just note that I spoke to Kalning for probably about an hour, about feminism, misogyny, fat acceptance, why this game wouldn't be acceptable if it were Anorexic Princess, being a gamer myself, safe spaces online, and, among other things, the pernicious lie that the entirety of the internet is populated by insufferably rude idiots looking for a flamewar.

I got a 25-word quote in the piece, despite being (mis)used as a spokeswoman for the entirety of the feminist community. ("Feminists argue…" and "Feminist bloggers say…")

An anonymous commenter from Kotaku got a 33-word quote, in which objectors to the game, such as myself, were called "foul-mouthed fatties."

Fair and balanced, bitchez.

For the record, it's not just a disservice to feminists; it's a disservice to gamers. Where are the quotes from gamers who share my opinion? (Or don't gamers in the threads at Shakesville count?) For that matter, where are the quotes from gamers who disagreed with me without sounding like total assholes? It's also just flatly inaccurate to treat feminists and gamers as mutually exclusive groups, because, clearly (refer to comments thread), they're not.

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Welcome to Shakesville, a progressive feminist blog about politics, culture, social justice, cute things, and all that is in between. Please note that the commenting policy and the Feminism 101 section, conveniently linked at the top of the page, are required reading before commenting.